Apparatus for regulating the temperature of a liquid, in particular wine

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns an apparatus for regulating by cooling the temperature of a liquid, and more particularly wine. The inventive apparatus consists of a hollow cylindrical refrigerated body ( 1 ) designed to be inserted through the neck ( 9 ) of a bottle ( 10 ), said body being closed at its lower end ( 2   b ) and tipped with grip means ( 2 ) at its upper end ( 2   a ), consisting in a piece ( 3 ) with a circular section the diameter of which is greater than that of the neck ( 9 ) of the bottle ( 10 ) and comprising a truncated base ( 13 ) whereof the side walls of the base ( 13 ) taper inwards to form a cap when the apparatus is inserted into the bottle. The cylindrical body ( 1 ) is divided into two parts ( 1   a ) and ( 1   b ), the lower part ( 1   b ) being at least partly filled with a fluid ( 6 ) freezing at 0 DEG C. and the upper part ( 1   a ) comprising at least one longitudinal slot ( 8 ) extending over its entire length and communicating with outside through a conduit ( 5 ) passing through said piece ( 3 ) in its centre.

The invention concerns apparatus making is possible to regulate bycooling the temperature of a liquid, and more particularly a wine.

It is well known to all professionals and connoisseurs of quality winesthat the temperature at which a vintage is served is decisive to be ableto appreciate its special qualities, in particular its flavours.

So, there are various tables of authorities which show the idealtemperature ranges for each type of wine or vintage.

The temperature range varies greatly according to the type of wineconcerned and it is not always easy to obtain and then maintain theideal temperature which would allow a wine to reveal all its qualities,due to many constraints.

The first constraint concerns the conditions in which the bottles arestored and kept which can lead to a temperature which is either too highor too low, at the time the bottle is selected with a view to beingserved.

In the event of the bottles not being kept in satisfactory conditions,i.e. in a wine cellar, they will more often than not be too warm and itwill to say the least be necessary to wait for some time before drinkingthem, after having cooled them.

The operation which consists in cooling a wine and then keeping it at atemperature below ambient temperature is particularly tricky.

There is indeed a risk of <<breaking>> the wine, i.e. making it lose itsown flavours and taste by bringing about a fall in temperature which istoo sharp.

Some unscrupulous people resort to empirical and totally reprehensiblemethods which consist in placing the bottle to be cooled in therefrigerator or freezer for a certain period of time.

It is quite obvious that such methods have destructive effects on theliquid's qualities and that they are absolutely inappropriate.

Now, sometimes, for example in the catering business, things need to bedone quickly and this cannot be ignored. Indeed, if an enlightenedconnoisseur can afford to wait several hours to taste a fine wine inprivate, the same is not true when the wine is served in a professionalenvironment, particular in the catering business.

For obvious reasons of profitability and credibility, it is not possiblefor a restaurant owner or his wine cellar steward to ask the customer towait for several hours to taste the vintage chosen on the wine list.Neither is it possible to take the risk of being discredited by servinga wine which has been cooled very much or too much, by a method which isneither controlled nor progressive.

It is therefore necessary to be able to have means at one's disposalwhich make it possible to bring the wine to the ideal temperature tosavour it and keep it at this temperature without necessarily affectingits organoleptic qualities.

Various solutions have been proposed to cool the liquid relativelyquickly in conditions which do not jeopardize its taste.

Publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,254 describes a circular shapedrecipient inside which provision is made to place a circular sleeve, theupper part of which juts out from the open end of the container to whichit can be firmly attached by means of two crossbars.

The space lying between the sleeve and the container is then filled withwater and the unit is placed for a certain period of time in a freezer.

When the water has frozen, the unit is taken out of the freezer and thesleeve is removed, which frees a circular shaped space in the container,inside which a bottle or a recipient containing the liquid can beplaced.

It is true that this solution makes it possible to cool a liquidrelatively quickly. However it takes a long time to implement it andabove all its design is not very attractive when being used for examplein a restaurant.

Publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,017 describes an insert designed to beinserted inside a wine bottle cooling device.

The insert comprises a housing provided to receive a cooling material orfluid and is designed to be placed inside a drink container. The bottlecontaining the liquid is then inserted inside this drink container, sothat the insert is arranged between the wall of the container and one ofthe sides of the bottle.

This method is not satisfactory either as it is long and difficult toimplement, and its design is questionable when not being used inprivate.

Publication GB 2 340 591 describes a more attractive solution, in whichan insert designed to be inserted through the neck of a bottle afterhaving been refrigerated is used.

The insert described is comprised of a cylindrical hollow body which isclosed at its bottom end, and its upper part has two side rims at theend which rest on the neck of the bottle and each comprises at least onepassing orifice, the whole unit being topped by a circular capcomprising peripheral orifices able to match the orifices arranged inside rims when the cap is in the opening position, so as to allow theliquid in the bottle to pass through.

This device is well suited, for example, to the consumption of drinks ina sports or informal environment. However, using it depends to a largeextent on the dimensions of the container and it is not able to beadapted to all types of bottle. Furthermore, for the liquid to flowthrough the peripheral orifices of the cap, this presupposes a priorrotation of the latter to bring it into a suitable position, with risksof a leak or unwanted effusion on the sides of the bottle, as thereremains a residual space between the ends of the insert and the cap.

Furthermore, none of the methods of the known prior art make it possibleto accurately control the temperature of the drink at the time it isserved, nor to maintain this temperature for a long enough time.

Incidentally, the known devices can lead to unwanted side effectsparticularly in the catering business, such as the labels which areaffixed to the bottle coming unstuck or the liquids wetting or runningonto the table linen, which in all cases does not look pleasant at all.

It would therefore be desirable to be able to have apparatus which canbe used easily and quickly and individually. It is also to be desiredthat this device, whilst being able to be used on a table, makes itpossible to reach the suitable temperature relatively quickly and keepsit thereafter in a strict range as the wines are consumed. Finally, theapparatus shall have to allow samples of liquid to be taken without anyrisk of the liquid escaping, oxidizing or being spoiled followingprolonged exposure to the air and without it requiring any complicatedhandling operations.

The present invention proposes to overcome these drawbacks of the priorart as outlined above and to fulfil the objectives stated by proposingapparatus comprised of a refrigerated insert provided to be insertedthrough the neck of a bottle, comprising grip means forming a plug, andmeans for the liquid to flow through the insert.

One of the particular advantages of the invention is that it makes itpossible to serve the drink without it being necessary to withdraw theinsert from the bottle.

The present invention shall be more fully disclosed with reference tothe description given below of a non-restrictive form of embodiment, andwith reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cutaway view of the apparatus according to the inventioninserted inside a bottle, and

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the upper part of the apparatus accordingto the invention.

With reference to the accompanying figures and more particularly FIG.(1), the apparatus according to the invention is comprised of acylindrical body (1) closed at its lower end (2 b) and with its upperend (2 a) tipped with a piece (3) which acts a grip means (2).

The unit is designed to be inserted in the neck (9) of a bottle (10).

The piece (3) has a circular section the diameter of which is greaterthan that of the neck (9) and comprises a truncated base (13) at theupper end (2 a) of the body (1), arranged in such a way that it can befitted onto the neck (9) of the bottle (10) once the body (1) has beeninserted into the bottle, to form a plug. With this aim in mind, theside walls of the base (13) will taper inwards.

The cylindrical body (1) is divided into two parts (1 a) and (1 b).

The lower part (1 b) which preferably represents around two thirds ofthe total length of the body (1) is designed to be at least partiallyfilled with a fluid (6) which freezes at 0° C.

Preferably, the fluid shall consist of a gel inserted in the body at apressure lying between 12 and 18 bar, so that the walls of the apparatusdo not undergo any distortion during freezing.

The parts (1 a) and (1 b) of the body (1) are separated from each otherby a fixed joint (7) which is put in place after inserting the gel (6).So, the lower part (1 b) is totally tight and the gel will not be ableto flow into the upper part (1 a). The latter, which represents roughlya third of the total length of the body (1), is fixed by its upper endto the piece (3) which constitutes the extension thereof.

The upper part (1 a) of the body (1) comprises at least one longitudinalslot (8) extending over its whole length, and communicating with theoutside by means of a conduit (5) crossing said piece (3) in its centre.The conduit (5) emerges around the bottom inside the upper part (1 a) ofthe body (1) and is associated by its upper end with a cap (4).

Of course, the number of slots (8) will be able to vary without callinginto question the way in which the apparatus works.

The cap (4) can according to an alternative embodiment comprise acontrol mechanism to manually control the flow of the liquid, forexample, a handle or a tap (not shown).

A joint (11) will be able to be arranged on the periphery of the base(13) of the piece (3) serving as a plug, in order to ensure that theunit thus formed is entirely tight when the apparatus is inserted insidea bottle.

The apparatus according to the invention is particularly easy to use.

The unit shall be supplied ready to use, i.e. with a body (1) which hasalready been filled with the gel (6) and the various elements alreadyconnected to one another. All the user shall have to do is place theapparatus inside a freezer for a certain period of time, in fact untilthe fluid (6) hardens, which does not pose any problems in terms of thecatering business where a sufficient number of devices will be able toplaced in the freezer before each sitting in order to be able to have aunit ready for use at all times without having to wait.

When the gel (6) has hardened inside the lower part (1 b) of the body(1), all that will have to be done is open the bottle (10) and insertthe apparatus inside in the neck (9).

Generally speaking, it is customary to taste a small quantity of wineimmediately after withdrawing the cork, in order to check that nothingis wrong with it, like phenomena involving maderisation or corking.

This makes it possible to withdraw a small quantity of liquid and tothereby free the space required to allow the apparatus to be insertedwithout causing excess liquid to be forced back through the neck of thebottle.

Once the apparatus has been inserted in the bottle (10), it is kept inposition by slighting pushing the piece (3) inside the neck (9).

If one then wishes to serve wine in a glass, all that will be requiredis to move the cap (4) which will advantageously comprise a hinge (14).

Indeed, the wine (15) which is placed inside the bottle (10) shall beable to flow through the longitudinal slots (8) to join the conduit (5)crossing the middle part of the piece (3). It will thus be possible toserve the desired quantity of liquid by simply opening the cap (4) whichwill furthermore make it possible, once it is closed, to protect theliquid, for example from any oxidation.

According to a preferred form of embodiment, the body (1) and itsvarious components shall be made of a high quality steel, which is acompletely neutral material with regard to wines of any kind whatsoever.

The apparatus according to the invention makes it possible both easilyand ingeniously to ensure that wine is kept at an optimum temperaturefor enjoying it for at least two hours, which is more than enough whenit comes to dining at a restaurant.

Experience has shown that using this apparatus has made it possible tostabilise the temperature in a much steadier and more constant mannerthan with devices such as ice buckets for example.

The variation in temperature recorded over a two-hour period is lessthan 2°, which makes it possible to remain in the optimum temperatureranges which are generally recommended for enjoying wines.

The invention is of course not limited to the form of embodimentdisclosed above by way of a simple example of implementation.

It shall on the contrary to be able accommodate any variations ormodifications which are obvious to the expert without deviating from theframework of the invention.

Furthermore, the apparatus according to the invention can be easilyadapted to all types of bottles, whatever their shape or size or thediameter of the neck.

It shall therefore be possible to provide various models of thisapparatus which can be adapted to all types of container.

Furthermore, and as shown in FIG. 2, the cap (4) associated with thepiece (3) in the upper part of the apparatus shall be able to receiveall sorts of shapes, which shall make it possible to give the apparatusa special design which will enhance the glamour of serving the wine.

1. Apparatus for regulating the temperature of a liquid, comprising a:hollow cylindrical refrigerated body (1) designed to be inserted throughthe neck (9) of a bottle (10), said body being closed at its lower end(2 b) and tipped with grip means (2) at its upper end (2 a),characterised in that the grip means (2) consist of a piece (3) with acircular section the diameter of which is greater than that of the neck(9) of the bottle (10) and comprising a truncated base (13) the sidewalls of which taper inwards to form a plug when the apparatus isinserted in the bottle.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterisedin that the piece 3 is crossed in the middle by a conduit (5) emergingaround the bottom inside the body (1), the upper end of which isassociated with a cap (4).
 3. Apparatus according to claim 2,characterised in that the cap (4) comprises a mechanism in its upperpart to control the flow of the liquid
 4. Apparatus according to claim3, characterised in that the mechanism for controlling the flow ofliquid is a taa.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised inthat the body (1) is comprised of two parts (1 a) and (1 b) separatedfrom one another by a fixed joint (7), the lower part (1 b) being filledwith a fluid (6) which freezes at 0° C and the upper part (1 a) beingfixed by it upper end to the piece (3).
 6. Apparatus according to claim5, characterised in that the upper part (1 a) of the body (1) comprisesat least one longitudinal slot (8) extending over its whole length. 7.Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that a joint (11) isarranged on the periphery of the base (13) of the piece (3). 8.Apparatus according to claim 1, characterised in that the body (1) is insteel.